Mintil language

For the ethnic group, see Batek people.

Mintil (alternatively Batek Tanum, Tanɨm, or Mayah) is an Aslian language of Malaysia. It is considered to be a variety of the Batek language.

Mintil
Mayah, Tanɨm
Native to	Malaysia
Region	Lipis District, Pahang
Native speakers	400 (2020)[1]
Language family	Austroasiatic Aslian Jahaic Eastern Mintil
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mzt
Glottolog	mint1239
ELP	Mintil

Background

In the late 1960s, Geoffrey Benjamin had come across speakers of Mintil among patients of an Orang Asli hospital at Ulu Gombak, just outside Kuala Lumpur.^[2]

Names and villages

The people are commonly referred to as Batek. There are 400 speakers of Mintil in Lipis District, Pahang who call themselves Batɛik ‘in-group people’, Batɛik Tɔm Tanɨm ‘people of the Tanum River’, and Batɛik Mayah [ba'tɛik may'ãh]. Their villages are:^[1]

• Kampung Sungai Garam (Tɔm Mayɛm) (4° 27’ 12” N, 102° 3’ 20” E; 2.5 km south of Kampung Dada Kering)
• Kampung Bencah Kelubi (Batuˀ Jalaŋ) (4° 38’ 23” N, 101° 58’ 45” E; 4 km east of Kampung Telok Gunong)
• Kampung Paya Keladi (Tɔm Hɨyaŋ) (4° 24’ 18” N, 101° 55’ 27” E; 10 km north of Kampung Chegar Perah)
• Kampung Tɔm Kəlkɔəˀ (4° 34’ 39” N, 101° 59’ 43” E; 2 km north of Kampung Kubang Rusa)

See also

• Batek language

References

1. Lim, Teckwyn (2020). "Ethnolinguistic Notes on the Language Endangerment Status of Mintil, an Aslian Language". Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. 13 (1): i–xiv. hdl:10524/52461.
2. Benjamin, Geoffrey (2012). "The Aslian languages of Malaysia and Thailand: An Assessment". In Austin, Peter K.; McGill, Stuart (eds.). Language Documentation and Description, Volume 11. London: Endangered Languages Project, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). pp. 136–230.